Sprout – Anna Werner

SPROUT

BY ANNA WERNER

Sprout is a social network for gardeners tailored for the community of Orono and The University of Maine campus. This social network will aim to connect citizen gardeners to one another, as well as to outside support via community organizations in Orono and special interest groups on campus in reference to gardening and sustainability. Sprout will give citizen gardeners a view of who is gardening close by, and will allow conversation between gardeners coordinated by Sprout’s own messaging service. Campus organizations and community groups that are part of the network will get free exposure for their organization, and will gain access to citizen gardeners and other organizations alike, to collaborate on projects, possibly making a bigger impact on campus and in the community. The most exciting of all of Sprout’s features, is “The CoOp”: a space within the Sprout website for “help requested” listings. “The CoOp” can be used for anything from organizing bulk buys of materials with other gardeners, to enlisting volunteers for events. Sprout is a tool that will give Orono’s gardeners and gardening/sustainability organizations a way to find and collaborate with one another.